powerCharts - Mac battery usage visualization

powerCharts helps you visualize your Macbook's battery usage and health data. You can download the app from App Store.

It calculates the battery's consumption rates for you, so you can easily tell whether your mac's battery can last 10 hours like Apple advertised.

Quick Start

1. Download the app from App Store

   You can download the app from App Store. Try the Lite version for free or purchase the complete version.

2. Install Crontab Task

   Open Terminal (it is a built-in app on your Mac). Copy the following command and paste it into Terminal:

   curl -o "powerCharts_install.sh" "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tedlex/powerCharts/main/install.sh" && \
   chmod +x "powerCharts_install.sh" && \
   ./powerCharts_install.sh
   rm "powerCharts_install.sh"
   

   Press Enter/Return to run the command.

   What is this?

   Crontab is a built-in tool on your Mac that can run scripts at specified times. We will use it to write your battery data to a csv file periodically. The command above will download a script that can install the crontab task for you.

   Why do I need to run the command in Terminal?

   App Store doesn't allow third-party apps to edit Crontab tasks. So you have to do it manually :( I made this script to make it easier for you.

   Is it safe?

   Yes! The script is open source on Github. Everyone can see what it does. And if you don't know the code, you can ask chatgpt about what it does ;) This app is also completely offline so your data is safe.

Uninstall or Update

If you don't want to run the crontab tasks anymore, you can uninstall it by running the same command above again and choose uninstall.

Sometimes I may update the scripts to fix bugs or add new features. You can update it by installing it again as above. You can re-install it anytime as it won't overwrite your data files, only the crontab scripts.

Features

1. Detailed battery usage data of last 7 days

   

   Blue line is battery level.

   Green line is when battery is charging.

   Red areas are consumption rates. For example, if it is 5 %/hr, it means your full battery can last 20 hours at this rate. If it is 12.5 %/hr, it can last 8 hours.

2. Battery usage of last 30 days

   

   Working time is how long your mac has been awake. Your mac is considered awake when the crontab tasks are not interrupted.

3. Battery usage of all time

   

   Same as above but it shows monthly data since you started using this app.

4. Battery health data

   

   The fisrt chart shows the change of your battery's cycle count and maxium capacity over time.

   Most Macbook models are designed to retain up to 80% of their original charge capacity after 1000 charge cycles.

   The second chart shows the distribution of your battery levels.

   Keeping your battery level between 20% and 80% can help prolong its lifespan.

Valid Data Format

The contabs tasks should write your battery data to two csv files like this:

battery_records.csv

date,percentage,charging
2024-09-04 12:27:00 +0800,91,1
2024-09-04 12:30:00 +0800,93,1
2024-09-04 12:33:00 +0800,95,1

battery_health_records.csv

date,cycle,capacity
2024-09-04 15:08:42 +0800,225,88%
2024-09-05 14:30:01 +0800,226,88%
2024-09-06 14:30:01 +0800,227,88%

You can then import the files to the app and visualize it.

If your mac has different output format, it may cause the app unable to read it correctly. You can contact me using email or github issue and I will fix it as soon as possible. Thanks for your help!

Support

If you have any questions, welcome to contact me at litx16@icloud.com